The sirens grew louder with every step I took. The cops were after me for the third time that month, and this time they were catching up faster than I thought they ever could. Which was a very bad problem. Solution to the problem: Run faster. I darted through the streets. Hopping over puddles of rainwater left from the night before, and staying deep in the shadows of buildings to keep from being seen from the flashing blue and red lights and the people that were still up. That was a lot of people.

It was Saturday night; families were still up, light streaming through their windows. There were also the weekend partygoers. People of all ages club hopping and wandering the streets; that left coverage though. I could easily hide in the crowds of people. I just had to keep my spoils close. But it was really simple nowadays. Stealing I mean. Crime happened so often, that in a few days everyone would completely forget about a few stacks of green…

I was still running, heading for the southern end of town. I would hide there for a while before heading home. At the thought of home my stomach growled. I laughed; I forgot to eat before I left the bank. I was going to take a chocolate covered donut from the pile that had been sitting on the counter. Honestly, who leaves a plate of delicious donuts at a bank after hours? What a waste. But it was strange I had forgotten about them when the fuzz arrived. I never forget food.

I slowed down near the block of strip clubs. Walking through the throngs of people and prostitutes that loitered around the sidewalks. I looked around, before I saw bright blue hair. I ran up to the girl with blue clothes, blue hair, blue nails, and blue make-up. "Hey." I greeted.

"What the hell are you doing here?" the blue girl asked, as she took a bite of the burger she was holding.

"Hungry." I said as I took a big bite out of her burger. She didn't mind.

"How much did you get?" the girl asked, pointing to the backpack I was wearing. I stashed the cash in my school bag, so what? Only an idiot would go around with a bag with a huge green dollar sign on it.

"Enough." was all I could say. The sirens were getting louder every second.

"Run!" the girl hissed at me, when the lights began to flash on the pavement.

I did. I zoomed past the blue lady and a bunch of other girls with skimpy clothes. After a few minutes of running I was in the ghetto of Gotham. Where the buildings were filthy and everything looked dead. No one was out tonight, and only one or two lights were on in the widows. I zigzagged through the maze of crumbling buildings. Broken glass and garbage littered the ground. The soles of my black tennis shoes were so worn out and thin, I could feel the small rocks and shards of the glass under my feet.

I laughed to myself, as I got deeper into the maze. The more I ran in random directions, the fainter the sirens became. It took a lot of stamina, but if I just kept moving the police would give up their chase and forget about me…again! They always forgot, sooner or later.

There would be an article about me in the paper tomorrow. Not on the front page, a small robbery didn't make the cut. No tomorrow a picture of Batman in action would be plastered on the cover, and my story would be nine lines long in one of the paper's borders, they always were. The media was all about Batman. Batman, Batman, Batman, everyone loves Batman, except maybe…a few people in prison, and nearly everyone in Arkham…

When I couldn't hear the sirens anymore, I stopped for a breather in a narrow alley. The buildings were close together, and so tall, that no light from the moon reached the bottom. It was excellent cover. I couldn't even see my hand when I waved it in front of my face. I sat down with a sigh between two dumpsters. I needed to think over what I'd done.

Replaying my situations was a ritual I followed every time after a bust. I thought it over slowly. This had been one of my best break-ins yet. But that was only natural. After a myriad of robberies, it gets easier, and you're able to steal more each time. Over the months I've learned a few things. I listed them in my head.

1: Only grab what you can carry

2: Take things that are worth taking

3: Don't make the robbery obvious, like busting out of the bank with bags of money

4: Don't get caught

5: Don't spend the loot to fast

6: Never leave a trail

7: Don't let anyone or anything see your face

8: Rob at night (coverage!)

9: Don't leave an unnecessary or accidental trail of money after you run away

I had a story for every rule, and not all of them were my own. I learned from others mistakes, picking out the flaws of their plans for robbery, and then making them my own. My favorite was when the Joker had robbed a bank, killed his co-workers, loaded the money onto a school bus, then broke through the cement walls just in time to join a procession of school buses on their way to a field tip. Good stuff. But that was what I had learned from my nine months of robbing. I laughed quietly again. Tonight my bag was filled with paper that had Ben Franklin's face on them. It wasn't a lot, just a few thousand. I could have stolen a lot more, but I just take what I need. I have to admit, I took a little more than usual this time. But I wanted Ashley to stay of the streets for a while. Take a vacation so she could spend three months of summer break with me.

I stood up after a long moment. I left the alley, and walked slowly down the street. Glancing into a window with the lights on, I had intruded on a family dinner. They were too busy talking and eating to notice me gawking at them. It was a family of five. A mom, a dad, a boy, and two girls. Sitting around a dining table enjoying the food that was set in front of them. They were chattering away. Asking each other how their days had gone. It was strange seeing such a warm friendly sight, out here in the cold broken side of the city. After a minute I felt guilty watching them and walked away.

I wanted a dad, and I wanted my mom back. I don't know why they had left us here all alone. Neither Ashley nor me had done anything to deserve it, I think. Yes, I stole. But that didn't start until after mom died. Dad left a long time ago… What else was I suppose to do? Ashley and me didn't want to get shipped off to an orphanage, only to get separated in the end.

Ashley had tried her best supporting us, taking on a bunch of low paying jobs. But she was miserable. She hated all of them with a passion. Plus, they didn't bring in enough cash. So now, Ashley was a seventeen-year-old hooker, and I took up robbing to support her lavish life-style. Our jobs didn't really make us happy, but at the end of the day, when we looked over all the money we had raked in, you just have to smile.

I walked a little faster, determined to get home before dinner got cold. When something stopped me. I stood right in front of another dark alley, straining my ears. Had I just been hearing things, or was someone breathing down in the darkness? Then I heard it again. Ragged breathing. The deep intake of breath was shaky, and the exhale slow and tortured. I turned slowly to face the pitch-black alley. The breathing was unbearable; it made the tiny hairs on the back of my neck stand up. I was too scared to move, but too curious to walk away.

I could make a break for it now, and run home. Or I could listen to my curiosity and walk into uncertain doom. Curiosity got the better of me, forcing my feet to move down into the depths of the alley. The buildings were shorter here. In the back of the alley was an expanse of cement wall. Only one ray of silvery moonlight, streamed over the top of the buildings. Settling its gaze over a cement box, with a thick iron grate placed on top of it.

The breathing was louder the closer I got to the box, and soon the tips of my shoes were touching the concrete. I examined it carefully. The breathing was coming from inside, but when I peered into it, there was nothing but dark. I stared at the grate, wondering if I could pull it off, but upon closer inspection, I saw that the grate was locked in place.

Then I noticed something. I don't know how I could have missed it. The grate was moving. It moved in time with the breathing. It rose and fell, rose and fell, slowly, matching the ragged breathing. The grate was like a metal chest. A chill ran up my spine. I was scared. But I was never scared. Yet still, the breathing had pulled something, making me want to scream my head off in fright.

I had had the exact same feeling once before. I could feel the memory sitting in the back of my mind, smiling at me with a creepy smile so wide, it was already stretched past it's own face. I couldn't remember the details, but I'm sure it had to do with a clown…

I shrugged it all off. The fear, the creepy thoughts, none had a place in my body. I turned around, ready to leave the alley. But I felt myself blackout for a moment. It felt like I was in someone else's body. I couldn't feel myself move, but I saw myself whip around and kick the lock off. Everything was sharp through my eyes. My surrounding's were crystal clear, so clear even, that I could see right through the darkness of the cement box, where I saw a tall, slim silhouette.

I jumped back when I saw that too familiar smile. If only those crooked lips, red as blood, would stop following me. There was a low cackle that rose from the cement box, before the iron grate burst open, rising a few feet in the air before falling to the ground with an ear-deafening clang.

I stumbled back, trying to avoid the heavy iron from crushing me as it fell. I landed on my butt, a wide smile was planted on my face, but I had no idea why. My eyes wide in shock as the silhouette practically flew into the air, then gracefully landed in front of me.

My grin instantly faded when the circle of light revealed who had escaped. I had made a guess it would be him when I saw his smile. But I thought perhaps it was a trick of the eyes, playing a very filthy trick on me. I was, very unfortunately, wrong. His hair was plain green. With chalky white skin, dark circles around his eyes, and bright red lips that spread past his mouth, the Joker looked like a psychotic clown. The point that he was also wearing a straightjacket only heightened his deranged appearance.

The Joker took a deep breath of fresh air. His grin widened when he saw me. He stalked toward me, ripping off the straight jacket as if it were paper while he went along, like he could have done it anytime. "Thank you my dear. I must say, I never could have done it without you." his voice was sugary. When he was only a foot away, he held out my hand. Offering to help me up.

Long forgotten anger boiled inside me, threatening to spill over at any moment. With a great unnoticeable effort I hid the hatred from him.

But I frowned and got up myself. "Mr. J." I greeted through gritted teeth.

"Why, no one's called me that in a while."

"Nine months, and three days." I spat. "That's how long it's been." That's how long he's been in the asylum. That's how long my mom's been dead. That's how long I've been stealing.

"Do you keep tabs on me little lady?" he asked.

I felt my face twist with disgust. "I don't have time for a creep like you." I said.

"I can assure you, I am no creep. Simply a clown."

"A psychotic clown."

"Do you know who I am little lady?"

"Bobo the bozo clown?" my voice was heavy with sarcasm.

"Guess again."

I sighed; I didn't think he'd keep asking. When I called him that a year ago he was always pissed off. Could nine months of solitude erase all memory of me? "The Joker?" I finally forced it out of my mouth.

"Correct!" the Joker clapped his hands, and a burst of confetti appeared out of nowhere.

There was a pause, as I watched the Joker jump around happily. "So what are you going to do now Mr. J? Mess with peoples lives or jeopardize your own?" I had to ask. Although I disliked the Joker, his ideals were interesting.

"A little of both really." he smiled.

"Good luck with that." I laughed before turning around to leave, not wanting to get too deep into conversation. Ashley was going to kill me when I told her I'd helped the Joker out.

"Don't you want to hear my ideas?" he had caught up, walking by my side.

"Not really." I lied, speeding up.

"The job of my partner is wide open." He said, keeping in perfect pace with me.

I stopped walking. "Nothing you say will make me work for you." I hissed.

He laughed for what seemed like forever, "Little lady, I'll make you a deal you'll can't say no to."